A Journey is a gradual passage from one state to another. It may be a translation of spatial coordinates- in which case an object physically changes location, or it may merely be metaphorical – an evolution of an idea from a crude, undeveloped state to a more refined one. Sometimes the journey is deterministic – the number of steps is known from the beginning; at other times it is iterative – involving little steps that seek to approximate an unknown solution. There may be fellow Journey-ers; there may also be assistance in the form of vehicles that seek to mitigate the drudgery of the journey. The key though is that change occurs and hopefully there are clearly defined metrics that show that progress is being made. When all is told though, there is an end in view, a destination,  a target box if you like, within which the Journey terminates………….

Occasionally, the vehicle takes on a life of its own; the methods, the strategies, the trappings, the apparent gains all become the metric, rather than the finite increments in absolute location that should define progress…At that time, a cold eye review should show that the vehicle has seemingly become more important than the Journey, or even the Journey-er. The danger though, is that it is all too easy to get caught up in the hustle. Entrained amidst the madding crowd, it is often more dangerous to attempt to stop than to keep walking. At such times, we often require the clarity of a third eye, someone who is far removed from the euphoria of the moment, who can candidly alert us to the fact that we have stopped Journeying, but have stopped to gawk at the vehicle that should be taking us to our destination.

When the line is crossed between Journeying and Gawking, the discerning one should realize that it is time to get off the treadmill, to step out of the morass and ponder for a season………..